Human
by Cardgamesonmotorcycles
Summary: "Feels nice doesn't it? Being treated like a human." Sly x Mizuki fluff.


It got worse at night. The warehouse was old and leaked, icy cold winds whipping through it's broken windows and water dripping with an infuriating consistency from the roof. The rats had learned to stay away by then, enough of their kind having been killed to prevent them trying to eat him or his Allmate. Mizuki had offered a place to crash enough times, but Sly was yet to accept his offer, merely managing on a pathetically low amount of sleep, making him grumpier than usual. It wasn't like he refused to accept charity, hell, he practically lived of the generosity of others, accepting free alcohol, food or whatever else off people. It wasn't always exactly free, Sly had a bit of a reputation as a local whore, perfectly happy to offer a quickie in an alley in exchange for some money or a specific item, usually cigarettes or drugs. His best customers had to be the Yakuza duo, Virus and Trip, who were always more than happy to accept the company of their favourite person, remarking each time that they were his biggest fans. But money often ran dry before essentials like a blanket or warmer clothing could be purchased, and such large items were tricky even for Sly to steal.

Mizuki meanwhile was sitting in his warm apartment, trying to watch TV and trying to ignore his coil, which sat on the table beside him temptingly. The weather report he'd watched several hours earlier, the temperature in mainland Japan had dropped to -2 and on the island, surrounded by water on all sides and with no protection from the icy ocean breeze, it was reckoned to be -8, maybe even lower. Mizuki had his heating turned up to full and a blanket over his legs to stop his feet getting chilly, hot drinks or a warm meal were metres away in his small kitchen, overall he was very comfortable, the weather not affecting him at all. But despite his attempts to distract himself from his coil, his eyes kept wandering from the window which showed thick snow falling down into the frigid streets to its unlit screen. He must be cold. Freezing in fact. It was nearly 2am and the temperature outside was well below freezing. He'd already rung round his friends to make sure they were okay, Koujaku was holed up with some female customer who'd gotten stuck when the snow started and no doubt they'd keep each other warm easily enough. He'd phoned his team members next, they were all home and keeping warm under blankets or by wearing four jumpers, as his newest member Jin had showed him almost proudly. But they all had homes with heating, or at least with plenty of blankets and clothes, or someone to share warmth with, the ability to make hot drinks or have a hot bath. He was outside, in a warehouse Mizuki knew leaked and was absolutely filthy. The moisture in his mattress would no doubt have frozen, meaning he'd be sleeping, or trying to sleep on a slab of ice. He'd been glancing at his coil for about four hours now, ever since the weather ended at 10pm, fighting the urge to ring him. It could only end badly, even if he did come over it wouldn't be to accept a shower, warm meal and a night in a comfortable bed where there was no chance of him catching frostbite. He'd act like Mizuki expected some kind of payment for his kindness, maybe accepting food and a change of clothes before attempting to strip Mizuki of his and tempt him into bed. Mizuki just wasn't sure he'd be strong enough to resist, even if he just wanted to make sure Sly was safe. He was overthinking this, he knew that much even as he growled to himself angrily and snatched up his coil, scrolling to his number and pressing call before he could change his mind.

It was fucking freezing, Sly's fingers were growing blue even as he shoved them into his jacket, wrapping slim arms round himself, legs curled up to his chest. He was shivering violently, sniffing every few seconds as his nose attempted to run. Sleeping was an impossibility, his bed was like a brick and his ratty covering would do nothing against the wind that blew through the shattered windows.  
"Aoba, your core temperature has fallen dramatically, you need to find better shelter until the morning." Ren, irritating as ever poked his head out of his bag, concerned dark eyes staring up at him as he monitored his owners condition nervously. "Maybe you should go home, I'm sure Tae would-"  
Sly quickly cut Ren off with a growl, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck angrily and shaking him, "I don't have a home."  
Grandma's wasn't a home, not for him anyway, he wasn't wanted there, not by the old lady, as much as she may pretend to worry about him Sly knew it was an act. At least Ren knew when to give up, trotting back into his bag the minute he was ungracefully dumped back on the cold ground. "Besides, I'm fine, it's not even that cold."  
Ren said nothing, but he didn't believe a word of it, his built in temperature sensors put it at almost -10, and in such thin clothing and with the harsh winds, it must be even colder for the stationary Sly. He had resigned himself to a night of constant worried checking of Sly's vitals when a familiar electronic beeping resounded through the building, echoing off the tin roof and bare concrete walls. Hope suddenly blossoming in his chest, Ren scrambled around in the bag, finding the buzzing coil and preferring it to Sly took it with fingers too cold to bend and grip it properly, almost dropping it before finally managing to answer the call.  
"What." he snapped, cold weather and irritating Allmate making him even more quick-tempered than usual, an achievement of itself.  
"Um," the voice on the other line sounded taken aback by the answer, but recovered soon enough with a familiar chuckle.  
"What do you want Mizuki?" Sly liked to get to the point quickly, if he was after a booty call, he'd rather he just say rather than dance around pointlessly.  
"I just wanted to check you were okay."  
Sly held back a disbelieving laugh at this, "awh, were you worried about me?"  
"Something like that," Mizuki grinned. "Seriously though, it's freezing out there, the weather said it was like -5, it must be way colder by now."  
"The temperature has fallen to -11 degrees." Ren remarked.  
Mizuki hissed through his teeth, that was cold enough to kill someone, especially if they were as skinny as Sly, who had practically no fat to insulate him. "Exactly, thanks Ren." A growl and a distressed yip from Ren told Mizuki he'd probably been kicked by his owner. Mizuki knew Ren would be on his side, risking his own safety to try and get Sly somewhere warm. "Listen Sly, come to mine. You can get a warm shower, and some food, and maybe your fingers won't fall off."  
There was silence and Mizuki almost thought Sly had passed out, but then Ren's voice spoke in the background, "I think you should do what Mizuki suggests. Your chances of frostbite are extremely high."  
There was half hearted sigh before Sly agreed, "fine."  
With that, he hung up.

It was nearly half an hour later when a banging on his door alerted him to Sly's presence, striding into the bar and up to the apartment immediately with a remark that sounded remarkably like, 'fuck it's warm in here.'  
Ren however entered more politely, not being affected by the cold after all, giving Mizuki's hand a grateful lick. "Thank you Mizuki."  
"That's alright Ren, I'm just glad the idiot agreed." Mizuki picked Ren up, rubbing behind his ears good naturedly as he re-locked the bar and headed up to his apartment.  
"Mm, he is very stubborn. I suggested he go home to Tae's but he refused."  
This didn't surprise Mizuki, who knew of the strained relationship between Sly and his aging Grandma, "I'll send her a message so she knows he's safe." One hand cradling Ren, the other typed out a quick message, sending it before he re-entered the comfort of his apartment, knowing Sly would only get angry if he found out. Said bluenette was curled up on the couch, clutching a blanket round him and looking round with a scowl even as he shivered.  
He rolled his eyes fondly, stroking Ren who lay in his arms. "Go take a shower, it'll warm you up." Not to mention the fact that Sly didn't exactly wash frequently, having to either go to Tae's, which he'd rather avoid, or occasionally get one at Mizuki's if he was sober enough.  
"I will if you join me." Despite the blatant shiver in his voice, and the fact that his lips matched the colour of his hair, Sly still managed a dirty smirk as he stood up shakily from the couch.  
Mizuki raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Sly, you're freezing cold, you'll get sick if you're not careful. Just go get a shower."  
"You're no fun." Sly pouted, but he soon obeyed, leaving the room and the sound of running water starting up soon after.  
"I'll leave some clothes outside for you." Mizuki called through the door, finding a pair of grey sweatpants and a black hoodie in his room and placing them on the floor outside, deciding to try and wash Sly's clothes, if he'd let him.  
"Do you know when he last ate, Ren?" Mizuki asked, having lowered the Allmate onto a kitchen counter and begun to search through his cupboards for something to make.  
"I think he had something on Tuesday." Ren answered, recalling a stolen package of squid balls that had been quickly devoured by Sly.  
Mizuki froze, staring at Ren incredulously. "But it's Thursday. He hasn't eaten in two days?"  
Ren nodded his head in agreement, tone concerned as he continued, "he has lost weight recently."  
"Yeah I noticed.." Mizuki muttered, finding a selection of vegetables and some chicken in his fridge, deciding to make a quick stir fry, it was either that or ramen noodles.

The bathroom door swung open in a haze of steam, skinny arm reaching out and taking the clothes before disappearing back inside. Mizuki sighed as he set the two bowls on the table, Sly's piled high with plenty of the stir fried noodles, vegetables and chicken.  
"Is everything okay Mizuki?" Ren asked, noticing the worried look on the tattooists face.  
He smiled weakly at Ren, rubbing him absently as he waited for Sly to emerge. "Yeah, I just worry about him out there. He could get really sick, or even die. And all those fights he gets into.."  
Ren didn't answer, instead licking Mizuki's wrist understandingly.  
"Do you think he'd agree to stay here a while, if I asked?"  
Ren tilted his head to the side, eyes flitting towards the occupied bathroom. "I do not know, he is.. stubborn."  
"Turning my Allmate against me now? Hm, Mizuki?" The cold voice spoke from the other end of the table, Sly stood there, wet hair leaving damp trails on the hoodie that hung off his frame, showing defined collarbones.  
"Nah, he likes you too much for that." Mizuki grinned, giving Ren another scratch under his collar.  
Sly didn't respond but rolled his eyes disbelievingly, strolling round the table, fingers trailing along the wood almost teasingly. He reached Mizuki, wrapping arms around his neck and plopping into his lap, sending him an expectant, almost smug grin.  
"Now, we both know why you invited me over. We may as well get on with it." His voice was sultry and low, resonating in Mizuki's spine.  
"Hm," Mizuki hummed as if pleased, licking his lips and slipping hands under the hoodie teasingly, leaning so his lips were millimetres from Sly's ear. "No time to waste."  
To Sly's alarm, Mizuki suddenly stood up, sending the bluenette tumbling to the floor with a hiss.  
"What the hell was that?" He growled, standing up with a glare, annoyed at having been tricked and made to look stupid.  
"Eat." Mizuki commanded, pointing at the steaming bowl on the table, eyebrow raised expectantly.  
"Huh." Sly breathed, stalking closer to Mizuki and planting hands on his firm chest. "We both know you didn't invite me here to eat, not food anyway."  
When hands reached for his belt buckle Mizuki gripped them harshly, pulling them away and sending Sly a firm look. "You haven't eaten in two days."  
Ren was now the victim of Sly's annoyance, "you tell him that?"  
Ren cowered away, shooting Mizuki a look. "I was just doing what I thought was best."  
"You don't know what's best for me, only I know what's best." Sly spat, anger directed at both Ren and Mizuki now. "You know what? Fuck you both, I'm not staying here to listen to this bullshit."  
"Sly, I recommend you-"  
"I don't give a fuck what you recommend! Stop interfering with my fucking life. What I do has nothing to do with you!" Ren was whimpering by now, cowering away from Sly's irrational rage. "I wish I'd just left you in that alley as a pile of worthless scrap."  
"Sly stop it." Mizuki demanded, gripping his shoulders painfully tight and pushing him into a chair. "Eat this and leave Ren alone, he's just looking after you."  
"I don't need looking after!" Sly hissed, but he slumped in his chair with a childish pout, playing with his chopsticks and glaring at the bowl of food.  
"Do you need me to force feed you?" Mizuki threatened, sitting down opposite him and letting Ren curl up on his lap, burying his furry face into his stomach.  
"That's some weird fetish you've got." Sly remarked, but took a stubborn bite a moment later.  
When he'd started he didn't stop, shovelling food into his mouth with an alarming speed, soon polishing off his bowl and accepting Mizuki's left overs greedily. He wiped his mouth clean on his sleeve, shooting Mizuki a suspicious look.  
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, almost expecting some kind of trap.  
"Doing what?" Mizuki asked, placing the bowls and chopsticks in the sink before lighting a cigarette and giving Sly one.  
"Being.. nice. It's weird." Nobody was ever nice to Sly, Virus and Trip were cordial but they certainly weren't nice. Nobody had ever worried about him before and it was very odd.  
Mizuki just laughed, "you're so fucked up." He took a glance at the clock on his wall a minute later. "It's late, we should go to bed."  
Sly's face illuminated with a smirk, here was a situation he was familiar with. "And here I thought you were doing all this out of the kindness of your heart. No need to sugar-coat it when you want a fuck."  
"To sleep." Mizuki corrected, ignoring Sly's assumptions and leading the way to his bedroom, flicking off lights behind him and assuming Sly was following. Mizuki stripped to his boxers, trying to ignore Sly's confused expression as he lingered in the doorway.  
"So.. we're not gunna fuck?"  
"No Sly, not tonight." Mizuki answered, growing impatient as Sly just hovered. "Either get the fuck into bed or go back out into the cold."  
The bluenette grumbled for a minute, but he soon pulled off his hoodie and climbed into bed, feeling strangely vulnerable and completely out of his depth.  
"Now go to sleep." Mizuki ordered, flicking off his bedside lamp and plunging the room into near darkness, surprised that Sly didn't immediately begin groping him. "Night Sly."  
There was a pause then, "night."  
Mizuki smiled to himself quietly, closing his eyes and almost immediately falling asleep.  
Sly lay awake for a long time, watching Mizuki's peacefully sleeping face and feeling his insides twist themselves in confusion. He didn't understand, couldn't understand, why Mizuki would be so generous, give him food, clothing to wear and a warm bed. He didn't seem to want anything in return, which is what confused him the most. People always wanted something, sex, a rhyme battle, money, drugs. But Mizuki was letting him into his home for free, offering him shelter from the storm outside. He sighed, Mizuki was a fucking weirdo, he had proof of that now. But he supposed there was no point in staying awake all night, not when the bed was so warm and soft, and he hadn't slept properly in days. A couple hours sleep couldn't hurt, and he'd be gone before the bartender even woke up.

"I'm surprised you're still here." Mizuki remarked upon waking up to see a bare back, hidden by blue hair perched on the end of his bed smoking a cigarette.  
"It doesn't mean anything." Sly snapped immediately, defensive tone showing the lie in his words as he extinguished his cigarette on his arm and glared.  
Mizuki chuckled, sitting up and reaching around Sly to get his own cigarette from the bedside table, accidentally brushing bare white skin with tanned fingers. He laughed as Sly flinched away, unnerved by the whole situation, planting a kiss on his shoulder and smiling as he froze.  
"You know, people don't necessarily always want something from you. Sometimes they're just being kind."  
"And that's what this is?" Sly asked, gesturing to his borrowed clothes and the bed, "kindness?"  
"Mm-hm." Mizuki nodded, noticing the bluenettes face furrow, letting his guard down. It was strange to see him like this, so out of control, all usual cockiness gone as he was in a foreign situation. It was almost endearing, so Mizuki couldn't resist but to wrap arms round the skinny waist, ignoring the sharp inhale of breath. "Feels nice doesn't it? Being treated like a human."  
Sly didn't respond, but the way he relaxed in Mizuki's grip was answer enough.


End file.
